Sunlight and shadow
by Bill The Bard
Summary: On Zack Island, Ayane and Kasumi are forced to share a room. Can they set aside their differences enough to become friends - or even more? (AyaneKasumi)
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: 

The characters from Dead or Alive are copyright Tecmo Ltd and Team Ninja. This story is an unauthorised work done purely for my personal enjoyment, and is not intended to infringe on any of their rights in or their profits from these characters. But this story is copy write to me. 

Comments, especially (constructive) criticism, always welcomed. Please e-mail me at 

m452shakespeareyahoo.co.uk 

Notes 

Just to warn those of a sensitive disposition - this is a same-sex romance story - female/female - between Kasumi and Ayane. And yes, I KNOW they're sisters (half-sisters, actually, which makes it okay in my view, so there!), so if that offends you, don't read this! I don't want you ignoring the warning, reading this, then flaming me, okay??. Note - this is rated R for language - it is NOT explicit, sexually ( I may work up an NC-17 version in due course ....) 

This is set during DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball, just so you know. 

**Sunlight and Shadow - part 1**

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****"A whole fortnight of doing nothing but playing beach volleyball? No fighting, no dodging assassins? Wow! Even if it IS Zack behind all this, I'm going to enjoy myself for once!" With that, Kasumi grabbed her suitcase and happily trotted towards the hotel suite where they would all be staying. The orange-haired ninja bore a wide smile as she trotted up the stairs to her room, not bothering with the elevator - after all, she was fit enough to manage without assistance. It felt a little odd, she had to admit - there weren't any of the men on the island apart from Zack. She'd really been looking forward to seeing Hayate again. But at least this little unexpected vacation could turn out to be just the thing to recharge her batteries. 

_I wonder what my brother is doing right now. Probably something which involves the affairs of the clan. And Ryu, he's probably shadowing my brother. Ryu ..... Why am I thinking about you right now? We're only friends right now, aren't we? Once I thought we might become something more, but that was before you met Irene, before she ... died ....._ _before you cut yourself off from any contact beyond friendship._

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_Oh, this is the place. I wonder who I'll be sharing with? _Though Zack had intended every girl to have their own room, one of the rooms had been damaged when a palm tree fell, and Kasumi would have to share with the girl who would have been staying in the damaged room.__

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She threw her suitcase onto the bed, and began unpacking. The sun was warm, and she was tempted to just leave things on the bed and go out and sunbathe. But she felt that if she did, she wouldn't find the time later in the evening and she'd still have unpacking to do tomorrow. She stripped off her normal blue ninja outfit and pulled out a red sun dress, just long enough to reach halfway down her thighs, and open-backed. _Hmm, sandals or barefoot? Sandals, I think. _She was folding her clothes away in the chest of drawers when the door opened and she turned, expecting to see the face of her roommate. Her mouth fell open. "Oh no, I'm sharing with you?!" 

The lavender-haired girl in the doorway shook herself. "I'm going to kill Zack later - the bastard! He set this up deliberately!" Ayane stalked over to the other bed, swung her backpack from the shoulder of her purple jumpsuit, then turned to face her older sister. "Okay, before we start, let's get one thing clear - I'm not going to try to kill you, either while we're here or when we leave. You have my word on that." The expression on the younger girl's face was as hard to read as it ever was, the red eyes unemotional, but the older kunoichi could hear truth in the cool tones. 

Kasumi blinked in surprise. When they'd met in the second Dead or Alive tournament, her sibling had been trying to assassinate her. She could remember the hate on the girl's face when she talked to Kasumi, the anger burning in her eyes. So what had changed? "Why not? The kill order is still outstanding, isn't it?" 

"I have my reasons," Ayane growled, "and that's all I'm going to say about it." She opened her pack and dumped the contents, sparse as they were, onto her bed. Weapons and costumes predominated - katana, shuriken, kunai, even a bow and arrows, black ninja clothing, black, white and purple _gis,_ a few pairs of shorts and tee-shirts, but nothing else. The only luxuries that Kasumi could see were a small number of bottles of purple nail polish, cosmetics and perfume - no books or CDs or anything similar. Unlike Kasumi's traveling collection, which included plenty of luxuries, lingerie, books, CDs, magazines, sweets, chocolate, and so on. Then expressive brown eyes watched as her sister brought out a purple crystal butterfly, its wings catching the light, and set it on the bedside table. She smiled. That had been in Ayane's possession for years, ever since her ninth birthday, in fact. Kasumi's smile faded, That had been about the last time they'd been at all civil to one another, and even then, their former bond had all but disappeared. She sighed, remembering the happy times so many years ago when the two of them had played together. 

Before Ayane had begun to hate. 

_I wish I hadn't listened to the adults back then. Who knows what might have happened, how she might have turned out, if I had carried on treating her like a beloved younger sister. Now, I might never manage to patch things up. _

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_That bastard! I'm going to rip his balls off and stuff them down his throat till he chokes! _Ayane was silently fuming as she stalked out of the room she shared with Kasumi. _That green-haired idiot has signed his own death warrant! _Of all the people to be rooming with, it had to be her sister! Okay, it could've been marginally worse - Helena, for instance - but it wasn't going to be a comfortable time. 

She'd changed into a white tee-shirt and shorts, the temperature being too great to wear the jumpsuit any longer. Genra's bandana was wrapped around her head as usual. Her bare feet made no noise on the tiled floor as she strode down towards the common area. 

She marched up to the bar and ordered a beer from the bartender, before slumping down into a chair at one of the tables. The bar was deserted other than her, the other women still unpacking and settling in. It suited the purple-haired kunoichi to be alone, she really wasn't in the mood for companionship. Then again, she'd been a loner as long as she could recall - _ever since that fucking shit Raidou came into my life, I hope the bastard's burning in Hell - _so she was used to being alone. Even more so now that Genra was gone. 

Genra. 

The name echoed in the hollowness of her heart. He'd been the only person to accept her for who she was, ignoring the whispers about her heritage. About her being tainted from birth by the madness of her father. About the futility of rearing a half-breed bastard child. He had taken her into his home and his life, taught her the skills of Hajin-Mon ninjutsu - had become the father she'd never had before. 

And she had repaid him by killing him. 

She had had no choice, she knew - by the time the scientists at DOATEC had finished, there was nothing of her beloved father-figure in Omega, whom she had fought and killed. She had burned the body on a funeral pyre, and walked away - alone. 

Always alone. Always the one on the outside, looking in. Always the one whom no-one else would even try to reach out to, the one who kept all others at arms length. She thought of herself and her half-siblings - Hayate and Kasumi were like the lions, proud and noble, the social predators, where she was the leopard, the solitary stalker in darkness, Yin to their Yang, shadow to their sunshine. 

Her wandering thoughts were interrupted by noise from the doorway, and she scanned the newcomers out of the corner of her eye - she always kept her eyes open, it was what had kept her alive. She relaxed a little when she saw Hitomi and Lei Fang - of all the girls on the island, those two were amongst those she trusted the most - at least as far as she trusted anyone. Neither of them had a grudge against her, unlike Helena, or more personal reasons for disliking her, like Kasumi. _At least someone's having fun already. _Her eyebrow rose when she saw Hitomi grab Lei's hand and pull her outside, keeping a tight grip as she did so. _Hmmm. Wonder if they're more than just friends ..... Not that I give a damn, either way. But I bet Hayate would go crazy if either of his precious sisters were to 'come out'._

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__She really wasn't feeling very generous to Hayate just then. She took a swig of her beer, and made a face. 

She'd admired her half-brother for years, even had a crush on him, yet she'd finally had to accept that he would never feel the same way about her. He'd made that clear to her after the most recent Dead or Alive tournament. The memory still burnt within her. Hayate would never accept her, no matter how hard she tried. 

She slumped down onto the table, lay her head on her arms, and began drawing traces on the cool marble with her finger. A sudden spark from one of the nearby electrified lights spelt the demise of a mosquito, but she ignored it, lost in her thoughts. 

"Jeez Kas, you mean you gotta share with your psycho sister?? I'd kill Zack for that! Hey, you wanna swap with me, get Christie to share with her?" 

"Thanks, Tina, but I can live with it. I mean, it doesn't seem as if she's after me, not at the moment, anyway." Kasumi sat back and looked over at her half-sister. The rest of the women were sitting around the pool, drinks at hand, enjoying the last of the sun as it slipped below the horizon, amber light scattering from the surface of the sea. Even Christie was there, though sitting on the opposite side of the group from Helena. Only Ayane hadn't joined them. The girl was sitting a few tables away, nursing her drink and staring out to sea, her face expressionless. Kasumi wondered what she was thinking about. 

"For now." Helena didn't trust the purple-haired bitch any more than she absolutely had to. She still felt certain that the girl had killed her mother - after all, she hadn't denied it when they fought, and had even been hired by Donovan to try to kill her. Ayane and Christie were the two people on the island that she didn't trust one bit. The Frenchwoman might not be overly friendly with Kasumi, the fact that they'd previously only ever met when they were due to fight made friendship difficult, but she didn't want the sweet-natured girl being taken advantage of, or hurt, by her evil sister. "But anyway, what teams are we playing first thing tomorrow?" She looked round at the others, waiting for a response. 

"Well, teams are flexible, you can partner whoever you want." Lisa smiled at her roommate. "But how about we start off with whoever is in the room opposite yours, and see how things work out. That means Tina and Christie, Hitomi and Lei Fang, Kasumi and Ayane, and you and I. Does anyone object?" 

Nobody demurred, so the women agreed that they would start with those pairings and see how things went. Helena was glad that she didn't have to partner either of the two assassins, and felt that Tina and Kasumi could look after themselves in the event of trouble. She sipped her champagne from its fluted glass. "Well, I'm turning in, see y'all tomorrow!" Tina grinned at the rest of them as she finished her beer, then got up and headed for her room. The others finished their drinks and followed suit. Kasumi turned to glance back. Ayane hadn't moved, hadn't even seemed to register the conversation going on nearby. She just kept looking at the sea, running a thin strip of purple fabric through her fingers. 

_Listen to me, Ayane. Just because people have always rejected you until now, that does not mean that they always will. I did not, and never will reject you, you know this. Trust me, daughter. You will learn to feel again, to find friendship ..... to love._

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__A single tear slid down a pale cheek_._

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_If only it were that easy, Genra-sama. If only I could believe you ........_

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__So, let me know what you think! Next - what happened between Ayane and Hayate after DOA3? And how will Kasumi and Ayane get on with their first match? Stay tuned! 


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: 

The characters from Dead or Alive are copyright Tecmo Ltd and Team Ninja. This story is an unauthorised work done purely for my personal enjoyment, and is not intended to infringe on any of their rights in or their profits from these characters. But this story is copy write to me. 

Comments, especially (constructive) criticism, always welcomed. Please e-mail me at 

m452shakespeareyahoo.co.uk 

Notes 

See part 1 for detailed notes. I'll be doing an NC-17 version later ...... 

**Sunlight and Shadow - part 2**

****

****The gentle sound of the waves lapping against the golden sands lulled her into a state of calmness and relaxation. The sea breeze blew orange hair from her face, wrapping it around her head in disordered tangles. She closed her eyes, letting the gentle caress of the wind soothe her. 

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_Two weeks here. No fighting, just playing games and relaxing in the sun, with the opportunity to buy expensive gifts and pamper ourselves. Even if it WAS Zack who thought this up, I think I might thank him for this - though most certainly NOT in the way he obviously desires! _

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_And now I'm sharing a room with Ayane. Maybe I can finally deal with what caused her to begin hating me so much. I never hated her back, I just wanted her to be my friend, my little sister, like she used to be._

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__Her train of thought was cut off as the bathroom door opened and Ayane came into the bedroom. Where Kasumi wore an elegant blue satin nightgown, the younger girl wore a large purple tee-shirt over white silk boxers. 

Her sister noted that the glum expression which had been there during the evening meal was still evident - whatever had been on Ayane's mind was obviously still weighing on her. Kasumi decided to try to break the ice. "I hope you don't mind the sea windows being open, it's just such a beautiful nightthat_ - "_

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_"_As long as I don't get bitten to shreds by mosquitoes I don't care." The purple-haired teenager dropped onto her bed and sprawled there, staring up at the ceiling. Her face had assumed the shuttered expression which it normally wore, the set of face that said 'back off, I'm not letting you read me'. 

_I was hoping she'd be more receptive to talking, since she admitted not wanting to kill me anymore - for whatever reasons she has. Well, I guess it's up to me to break the ice, so here goes ...._

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__"Ayane, is something troubling you? You were very qui - " 

"Like you give a shit, anyway! You've never given a damn about me!" Red eyes swung to glare into brown, and Kasumi's heart sank. If her sister was going to have this attitude during their stay here, then there was no chance at all of them settling their differences. Still, she pressed on. 

"That's not true, Ayane. I've always cared about you. I - " 

"Funny way you've got of showing it, then!" Now Ayane sat up, fists clenched as she glared daggers at her older sister. "You turned your back on me because I wasn't good enough for you, just like Hayate only ever wanted me around as a nice little human weapon, to be aimed by him at whatever target he liked! That self-righteous, hypocritical shit!" 

Kasumi was stunned by her outburst. She had never heard Ayane speak of Hayate like that before, with such venom in her voice. She'd suspected for a while that her half-sister had a crush on her brother, the way she looked at him, the way she followed him. Now there seemed to be only hate. "Ayane, what happened between you and Hayate? I've never heard you talk about him like that!" 

Ayane slumped back down on the bed, eyes closed. There was a pause of several seconds, as if she was debating what to say. Then her eyes opened, and her scarlet gaze met that of the older girl. Kasumi was shocked to see the anger and hurt in her sister's eyes. "You'll find out soon enough. I've been declared renegade." 

"WHAT?!" 

Kasumi sat down on the floor, staring at the younger girl in astonishment. _She's .... she's been declared renegade, like me? But why?! I was exiled because I left to look for Hayate without instructions, but what can she have done_? _"_Why?!" 

Ayane turned her gaze back to the ceiling. "The official reason is because of what happened during DOA3. When I beat you, remember?" Her voice had resumed its normal, mocking delivery, but Kasumi could hear the pain simmering underneath, where no-one who didn't know her well would hear. 

Kasumi closed her eyes. _She'd been hurting so much, but her sister was in no better shape. Time for one last throw of the dice, to finish Ayane before she could finish Kasumi. She swept out a leg, catching her opponent behind the knee. _

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_Ayane fell, but as she did so, her own foot swung to catch Kasumi in the side, just below the ribs. She gasped as the air was forced out of her, and tried to regain her breath._ _That brief delay gave Ayane time to use the momentum from her fall to roll forwards and kick Kasumi in the face. Blackness instantly swept over her._

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_"_Hayate said before the clan that, after knocking you out, I should have kept you prisoner until you could be brought back for execution. The fact that I didn't, coupled with my disobeying his orders to leave the Genra fight to him, persuaded the clan to conclude that my tainted blood was making me a liability to the Mugen-Tenshin, and to order my death." The soft, sweet voice of the younger girl couldn't hide the hurt and bitterness 

"B-but that's ridiculous!" Kasumi was astonished at what she'd heard. "After I regained consciousness, I went to see Hayate in his room! He took me out to dinner, and never said anything about having me brought back! Why would he condemn you for not doing something he didn't do himself?" 

_Why would Hayate do something like that? He didn't have to tell the elders about Ayane insisting on fighting Genra. It's not as if Ayane was trying to upstage or embarrass him! He should have stood aside and let her kill Genra. His life was hers to take, if it was anyone's._

The purple-haired kunoichi leapt to her feet, eyes blazing. "Because he favours you over me, like everyone else! He's withdrawn the assassins he sent after you and sent them after me instead! He'll see me dead and you alive! He loves you, all I ever was to him was an embarrassment!" She stormed over to the door. 

"Ayane, where are you going?" 

"For a walk, to calm down!" 

The door slammed shut behind her, leaving Kasumi staring after her. 

---------------------------------------------- 

_Shit! I guess it'll be harder than I thought to get along with her! I mean, I'm taking it out on her for what that ... that sanctimonious bastard Hayate said!_ ? _But everyone always favours her! No-one other than Genra ever wanted me for myself! Why do I always have to lose to her_?! 

The sand pressed between her toes as she walked along the beach. The question came back to haunt her, as it always did. Why did she always have to lose to Kasumi, why did her sister always get the love and affection, where she got only contempt and abuse? No-one ever gave a damn about her except Genra. 

Okay, Hayabusa had been ... not-unfriendly, but it just wasn't the same. _Not like how Hayate treats Her, or the way She looks at him... The clan never wanted me. Nobody ever did. _

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_Is that why I'm not trying to kill her? Because she's now getting the same persecution I got throughout my whole life? Or do I just want someone to give a shit about me, even if they haven't for years ... not since we were small, anyway. Why did that change, why did she stop caring about her little sister?_

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_Oh, fuck this! I'm not getting anywhere. Some questions just can't be answered. Guess I was just born to be screwed over by life ......._

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_---------------------------------------------------_

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__"This should be easy! You two just aren't in our league, strengthwise! Right, Christie?" The tall blonde American woman grinned at her partner, who smiled a cruel smile. 

"Indeed. You two both lack power and height. You have no chance against us." 

"We'll see about that!" Kasumi was starting to get angry at the arrogance of their opponents, and Ayane was fuming, as she could see. 

"Yeah, bitches, we're so going to kick your asses!" 

Tina and Christie both broke into howls of laughter at that. "You've got a big mouth, you skinny little freak." Christie glared at the youngest of them, who glared right back, completely unintimidated. 

"Oh yeah? Want to place a little side wager on the game?" 

"Ayane ... " 

"Sure, kid, whatever you can afford." Tina smirked at Ayane. The two older women were both confident of victory. After all, their opponents hated each other, right? So how good a team could they be? 

"A thousand bucks to each of the winners." 

"AYANE!!" _What is she trying to do?! I've never played volleyball before I got here, and we're still sorting out our differences, so how can we win?_

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__The two women on the other side of the net laughed loudly. "You're a little overconfident, child. We'll enjoy taking your money! Done!" Christie picked up the ball and walked back to get ready to serve. 

Kasumi rolled her eyes. _I hope Ayane knows what we're doing. I really don't want to start my vacation out of pocket. _She looked at their opponents. Tina was wearing a very revealing, very skimpy bikini with starts and stripes embroidered on it, and Christie had a very svelte and elegant-looking black one-piece swimsuit. 

Compared to them, the two Japanese girls were modestly dressed, as neither of them had yet gone shopping. Kasumi herself wore a simple red one-piece swimsuit, whilst Ayane had merely put on her boxers with a vest over it. _Note to self : go shopping sometime today! I'd like something a little better than this, not to mention seeing what else is for sale here. _She moved up to the net, Ayane dropping back behind her. Christie tossed the ball up. 

The serve was hit flat and hard, and Kasumi couldn't stop it. But her hand made fleeting contact, enough to take some of the power out of the serve, and Ayane was able to throw herself across the sand to reach the ball before it hit the ground. She tossed the ball straight up in the air, and Kasumi had to dash to retrieve it, as the lavender-haired teen rolled to her feet. 

The orange-haired ninja girl hit the ball high, and Ayane easily palmed it back, both girls moving towards the net as they did so. A couple of passes later, and Kasumi threw the ball up for Ayane to spike. Christie and Tina both went to block - but Ayane instead palmed the ball over to Kasumi, who, with their two opponents both sprawled on the sand, simply knocked the ball into an empty part of the court. 1-0. 

Tina's serve was just too fast and powerful, and it scored a clean winner. 1-1. 

Kasumi took the ball, and went over to her sister. "How hard should I serve? I'm not good at this." 

"Just get the ball over - we can't win the point otherwise." Both kept their voices low, so that Christie and Tina couldn't hear them. 

"Wassa matter? Afraid, girlies?" The American woman's voice was mocking, and Ayane gave her the finger. Christie glared at her. 

Kasumi took position, and served overarm. Just as she did so, Ayane stuck her tongue out at the receiver, Christie. The white-haired assassin was furious, and tried to smash the ball at her face. Instead, she ended up hitting the ball into the net. 2-1. Ayane smirked. _Ha! Psychological warfare rules OK!_

She took the ball and waited for Kasumi to get into position. _Right, this one'd better be good - they're too strong to be allowed an opening. _

She tossed the ball high, then bent her legs and catapulted into the air, swinging her hand to smash the ball with all her strength towards Tina. The statuesque blonde tried to control her return of serve, but ended up smashing the ball into the sand at her feet. 3-1. 

"I thought you knew how to play volleyball?!" Christie's tone was icy as she glared at her partner, who glared right back. 

"Don't you start on me, you white-haired old hag!" Tina yelled at the English assassin. Kasumi made to step between them and calm things down, but Ayane grasped her arm. 

"Nah, let 'em fight! It should be fun!" 

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One short, but rather vicious, fight later, the game resumed. But the older women were no longer working together, and the sisters had an easy victory, 7-1. 

Tina nursed her bruised jaw and painful shoulder, now pushed back into its socket after being dislocated. Christie rubbed her neck, still aching from her being piledrivered into the ground. The two walked away, furious with the other. Kasumi looked over at Ayane. "Well, that was a good win. We worked well together!" 

"Yeah. I guess we did." 

"Well, it's nearly time for lunch, but I'd like to do a little shopping before we eat." The two girls strolled back to the hotel, neither saying anything. Though she was loath to admit it, Ayane felt ... comfortable in her sister's presence, for the first time in years. The hate she'd felt for so long seemed to have faded. 

Or perhaps it had simply found different targets - Hayate and Donovan. 

Kasumi walked into the shop and looked around. _Well, I need a new swimsuit, and maybe I can get something for Ayane while I'm here - a thankyou for playing so well this morning. Let me see ...._

She was surprised at how well they'd clicked, especially given that Ayane was by no means a 'morning' person. Then again, Kasumi had arranged the previous night for a large jug of cold grape juice, her sister's favourite drink, to be available at breakfast. The lavender-haired teenager had happily polished it off whilst drizzling chocolate syrup over her corn flakes .... 

------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Ayane wandered into the shower, humming happily. It felt good to start the vacation with a win, especially over one of her rivals, Christie. And she didn't like Tina much, either, possibly because Tina didn't like her. _Ah, fuck her. Who gives a shit about being liked. _She ignored the little voice in her head that whispered, _you do, actually._

She turned on the taps, and let cold water cascade over her naked body. She liked cold showers, they made her feel invigorated, cleansed. And, of course, it was good survival training - building up her resistance to cold. _Never pass up a chance to make yourself tougher, _she mused as the water washed the sweat from her tangled hair. 

_What does not destroy us, makes us stronger._ [1] 

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_Okay, time to get a swimsuit. _She paused in thought_. And maybe something for Kasumi. I mean, that's what Lei said she was going to do, buy something for her partner. But God knows what._

_Pink, whatever it is. Her pink fetish is as bad as my purple one_. 

_Hey, I have an idea_. 

Ayane marched up to the cash desk. "Hey, do you do requests?" 

The man behind the till blinked at the abrupt question, but nodded. "Indeed we do, ma'am, if we can." 

"How about printing a custom design on a tee-shirt?" 

"Easily done, ma'am." 

"Good. Here's what I want ..... " 

------------------------------------------------- 

Kasumi waved to her sister, noticing the rather revealing sky blue with white cartoon character two-piece swimsuit her sister was now wearing When her younger sister got closer, she could see that the white character was a bunny with the legend 'bad girl'. She laughed out loud, and Ayane smirked. 

"Like it, then?" 

"It suits you," She stretched. "A pity I didn't see anything I fancied ......" 

"Try this." The orange-haired shinobi blinked as a package was dropped into her lap. With a slight feeling of trepidation, she pulled the string to open it. Inside there were two pieces of clothing, a pair of black frayed denim shorts and a hot pink tank top. "Wow! Thanks!" 

The purple-haired teen dropped a couple of bottles of pink nail polish into the now empty box. "This is your colour, right?" 

"Yes!" Then Kasumi reached under her table, and pulled out a gift box of her own. "And these are for you!" 

Ayane raised an eyebrow, then opened the box. Purple sunglasses, violet butterfly hair clip and plenty of sunscreen! She grinned. "Hey, this stuff is pretty good!" Then she looked at her sister. "Oh, if I forget, you've got something coming to you later." 

"What?" 

"You'll see ......" 

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Kasumi opened her eyes upon hearing her name spoken, to see one of the hotel staff standing by her deck chair as she soaked up the afternoon sun. She was relaxing after she and Ayane had won their second match of the day, 7-3 against Lisa and Helena. 

"For you, ma'am." 

She took the box, quickly reading the accompanying note. 

"_Like I promised, something special ..._

_Hope you like it (tee hee!)_

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_Ayane"_

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_Why does that sound ominous? _Gingerly, she opened the box_._

_A tee-shir_t? She shook it out. A tee-shirt with a face on it. She studied it for several seconds. She knew that face - the strong jaw, the long hair, the green eyes .... 

_Green eyes??_

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_"_RYU?!" She blushed crimson when she realised that she'd spoken out loud and that the other women were staring at her, a couple of them - Leifang and Helena, specifically - smiling. Both knew about Kasumi's feelings for the super ninja. 

"AYANE!!" 

Cackling laughter could be heard as her half-sister ran away as fast as she could. Kasumi glared after her, then looked down at the shirt with its highly accurate portrait of Ryu Hayabusa framed by the words 'HOT HUNK'. 

And she began giggling. 

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[1] Nietzsche 

If you're wondering - the swimsuit Ayane got was the 'Lamina', and she gave Kasumi the 'Maridah'. 

Next - a nighttime game leads to a shocking revelation! 


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: 

The characters from Dead or Alive are copyright Tecmo Ltd and Team Ninja. This story is an unauthorised work done purely for my personal enjoyment, and is not intended to infringe on any of their rights in or their profits from these characters. But this story is copy write to me. 

Comments, especially (constructive) criticism, always welcomed. Please e-mail me at 

Notes 

See part 1 for detailed notes. I'll be doing an NC-17 version later ...... 

**Sunlight and Shadow - part 3**

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****Hitomi wandered out onto the tiled pool side area with a dazed look on her face. Leifang got up, a look of concern evident. "Hitomi, what's wrong?" The Chinese girl was always hanging around the beautiful brunette, to such an extent that it had a few tongues wagging ..... 

"Nothing's actually wrong, Lei. It's just - Kas, did your sister have an odd upbringing?" Blue eyes focussed on the Japanese girl in her revealing red bikini, currently engrossed in a food magazine. 

The redheaded ninja girl looked up from her deckchair and shook her head. "Not that I know of, she had a normal childhood, why?" _Well, as normal as a ninja girl could ever have, I suppose._

The German girl ran her fingers through her hair. "Because when I told her we're having a pyjama party tonight and asked her if she wanted to come, she asked me what a pyjama party was!" 

Tina, who had been standing on the edge of the swimming pool ready to jump in, looked round at the two of them with a bemused look on her face. "What kinda girl don't know what a pyjama party is?! Geez, I mean we did those at least once a month!" 

"Yes, but you have to have friends to have a party, Tina." Helena's cultured tones cut across the conversation, and the others turned their heads to look at her. They all knew that the elegant Frenchwoman hated and distrusted the purple-haired girl, believing that she had been responsible for the death of her mother. 

"Since Ayane has no friends, she cannot have been invited to parties, now can she?" _I certainly would not invite her to anything. Even if she had not killed Mother, she is a very unpleasant person._

"She must have had some friends, Helena!" Leifang rolled her eyes in mild exasperation with the opera singer. "Even someone as antisocial as her must have been close to someone, even if only one or two people - " 

Kasumi shook her head. "No. The clan has kept its distance from her since the day she was born. They feared ..... contamination." 

"Contamination??" Hitomi blinked at the phrasing of the other girl's words. "You make it sound like they thought she was radioactive!" 

Kasumi sighed. "In a way. Her father was .... an evil madman, and they thought that, since he had been like that, she would become the same one day, his madness claiming her. So children were warned against associating with her, in case her evil transferred to them.". 

_I received the same warnings, and, to my shame, I listened. I should not have, she is my sister after all, but Father was most insistent ....... And so were the other children my age. And peer pressure is such a powerful force ......_

"Man, that's a pretty shitty attitude!" Tina looked indignant, which surprised the others. The tall American woman had never liked Ayane, so for her to stand up for the lavender-haired girl was unusual. 

"I mean, ain't her fault her old man was a shit!" That was when the penny dropped for the other women. She was standing up for Ayane because of her own recent problems with her father. 

"Hey, is that why she's so crap at making friends? 'Cause she never had any before?" The blonde wrestler had a grin on he face, as if she'd just solved an annoying puzzle. 

Hitomi smiled. "I think you're right. It would explain a lot. Why she seems so reluctant to try to be friends with anyone." She turned to Kasumi. "Anyway, she agreed to come once I explained what it meant." 

Helena looked unhappy. "Just as long as you keep her away from me." 

The others rolled their eyes. A chorus of "yes, Helena" met her words. 

"Fine. So, everyone in my room at eight, okay?" Hitomi looked at Tina. "You feel like helping me get the drinks in?" 

"Yeah!" 

------------------------------------------------------------------- 

"We win again!" Kasumi leapt up and high-fived Ayane. "That's five games in a row we've won! Three yesterday, and two today!" She grinned at the crestfallen figures of Hitomi and Leifang, their opponents whom they had just beaten 7-2. 

"Guess we make a good team." Ayane smiled slightly, a genuine smile instead of a smirk, and the two girls on the other side of the net exchanged surprised looks. No-one, as far as they knew, had ever seen Ayane smile at her sister, not a real, friendly smile. They wondered what was going on. 

The redheaded girl brushed sand from her tanktop - she very firmly refused to play in her 'Ryu' shirt, for fear of damaging it - and laughed. "More Zacks to spend on gifts! Let's see if we can get something for everyone for tonight!" 

The lavender-haired kunoichi shrugged. "Why not? I hear there's a new store to open soon, but until then, there isn't much in the shops I want. Maybe I could sell my beautician skills to the others?" She flicked the sand from her 'bad girl' swimming costume, straightened her purple sunglasses, and made sure the purple ribbon bracelet was still round her wrist. 

Leifang, who had wandered over with Hitomi to listen, looked surprised. "You know how to do beauty treatments? I thought you just liked having them done to yourself!" 

"Nab, I know how to do them as well. After all, beautician is a good camouflage skill for a ninja to have - beauty parlors can be excellent sources of information, as people can let slip useful information when they relax." Ayane smirked, her trademark self-satisfied grin. The Chinese girl rolled her eyes. 

The Tai Chi practitioner glanced briefly at her teammate, eyeing her curvaceous figure, then grinned at the purple-haired girl. "Maybe you could sell your skills for the rest of the fortnight? I think some people - " she paused " - might like to buy such treatment as a gift for their partners." 

Kasumi had noticed the expression on the other girl's face, and looked quickly at Hitomi. The brunette seemed oblivious to the direction the conversation had taken, as she had begun talking volleyball tactics with the lavender-haired assassin. 

She looked at her younger sister, discussing the match with Hitomi. _She seems ... friendlier now. I'm glad. It's about time she started to thaw out._

__

_I just hope it continues._

__

_-------------------------------------------------------------_

__

__"Aw, come on! You've had enough clues already!" Tina grinned smugly as she lifted her beer bottle to her lips and downed a large gulp of the ice-cold beverage. She looked round at the other women. "Come on now, who's going to guess next! You've only got another five tries!" 

The women were sprawled out on the floor of Hitomi's room, in their night clothes, downing alcoholic drinks from the scattered ice-buckets and eating food whipped up by the young karate practitioner from ingredients which no-one knew how she'd managed to obtain. Some thought that the two ninjas might have helped, though both proclaimed their ignorance of Hitomi's supply source ..... 

The current game was "guess the favourite movie". Christie's was 'Reservoir Dogs', Helena favoured 'La Reine Margot', whilst Hitomi had gone for 'Das Boot'. Now it was Tina's turn. 

Lisa smiled. "I can guess." 

"Go on then!" The blonde American tossed her empty bottle into the bin and pulled another from the ice-bucket. 

"Lord of the Rings." 

"Damn! Uh, which one?" 

Zack's sister laughed. "Quit stalling! There's three movies and four guesses, so you lose! 'Return of the King', 'Two Tow - " 

"Okay, ya got it, darn it!" She threw up her hands in surrender, as the others laughed. Then Tina glanced over at Kasumi. "Okay Kas, you're up next!" 

The flame-haired girl sat up straighter. "My turn? Okay, I've got my favourite movie, so you can start - " 

"Sleepless in Seattle." 

Kasumi stopped and glared at her sister, who gave her an evil grin in return. The others looked between the two of them, before Christie finally spoke. 

"Is your sister correct?" 

"Yes, she is!" The words came out between gritted teeth, causing a few smiles to appear. The British assassin smirked. 

"I guess it's your turn now, Ayane." 

"Fine, got it!" 

"Okay, is it Japanese?" Lisa asked the first question. 

"It is." 

"Horror?" Leifang. The lavender-haired girl shook her head. 

"Romance?" That was Helena. There were a few sniggers at the idea of Ayane's favourite movie being a romance ..... 

"Of course not." 

"Violent?" Christie already knew the answer to that one. The white-haired assassin didn't even have to wait for the nod to know she was correct. Ice-blue eyes regarded the kunoichi for a few seconds, then swung to gaze at her sister, still sulking from being guessed first time. "Kasumi, any ideas?" 

The older sister thought for several seconds, sipping from her bottle of spa water, then she looked at Ayane with a sigh. "I can guess, can't I?" 

"Can you?" 

"Battle Royale." 

"Bingo!" 

Hitomi groaned and shook her head, as the others simply looked puzzled. Helena looked at the German girl, a quizzical look on her face. 

"What is wrong? What is the movie about?" 

Hitomi sighed, gazing at Ayane in mock sorrow. "It's about some Japanese schoolchildren being trapped on an island and forced to kill each other with improvised weaponry." The rest of the women rolled their eyes and shook their heads as Ayane sniggered loudly. Trust her to like such a movie best! 

Lisa swallowed some more chilled champagne (Hitomi's source had been very productive!) and grinned wickedly. "Hey, how about a more, uh, 'adult' game?" 

Kasumi looked very unsure. "Like what?" 

"Well, instead of 'what's your favourite film', how about 'who did you lose your virginity to and when, or, if you're still a virgin, which of the Dead Or Alive competitors would you like to lose it to?'" 

"WHAT???" Ayane and Kasumi both looked horrified, and Hitomi and Leifang were blushing furiously. 

"I don't want to play th - " Ayane's words were abruptly cut off as Lisa decided to go first. 

"Okay, for me it was three years ago. David was his name, a real charmer. We met in Hawaii, where I was doing research." She sighed. "It was only after three weeks that I found out there was no future for us - his wife turned up." 

"Bastard!" 

"Thanks Tina. Oh well, that's my story. Hitomi, how about you?" 

The younger woman blushed scarlet as all eyes turned to her. "Um, I haven't .... you know. Not yet." 

"So, who's the lucky man, then?" Helena couldn't resist teasing the German girl, and she smiled widely as Hitomi's blush deepened. 

"Um, er ...... Hayate." 

Kasumi looked at Ayane, Ayane looked at Kasumi, then both started giggling uncontrollably. "Sounds like Nii-san's in luck!" Ayane rolled out of the way of the beer can the enraged Hitomi threw at her. 

"SHUT UP!" Both sisters saluted the furious karate girl, still struggling to keep their mirth under control. She glared at them, then an evil smile appeared on her face. "Okay Kas, it's your turn." 

"Me??" 

Ayane started to smile, then her face went blank, and she got up. "This is a bad idea. I - " 

Kasumi grabbed her leg. "Oh no you don't! If I have to, so can you!" She grinned at the death glare she got from her sister, then looked round at the other women. "Well, like Hitomi, I'm still .... uh .... a virgin. As for who - " 

"I think we can guess from the shirt!" Leifang started giggling at the crimson flush on Kasumi's face, as she gestured ay the 'Ryu - Hot Hunk' shirt the flame-haired Japanese teen was wearing. The rest of the group, apart from Ayane, started laughing along with her. "Okay, Ayane, you're next!" 

With a violent tug, the purple-haired girl pulled her leg out of Kasumi's grasp and backed away, out of reach of her older sister, and started to head for the door. "Forget it, this is a stupid idea!" 

Tina shook her head. "C'mon girl, it ain't that bad! Just a bit o' fun. I mean, you're the youngest here, so you haven't - " Then she paused, staring at the smaller girl. "You haven't, have you? I mean shit, you're still only sixteen!" 

Kasumi got to her feet, her eyes fixed on Ayane's face. "Sister, tell me you haven't." As Ayane kept silent, Kasumi's amber eyes widened. "Nii-san will be furious! Who was it, and when??" 

Ayane spun away and yanked the door open, almost pulling it off its hinges. Then she turned back. Kasumi was shocked to see the pain and self-loathing which had appeared in her crimson eyes. Her voice was quiet, flat, emotionless. 

"My father, when I was five years old." 

With that, she turned and left the suddenly silent room. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Next - repercussions! 

PS Yes, I KNOW they're spelt 'pajamas' and 'favorite' in the US, but I'm British and that's how we spell them over here - so there! 


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: 

The characters from Dead or Alive are copyright Tecmo Ltd and Team Ninja. This story is an unauthorised work done purely for my personal enjoyment, and is not intended to infringe on any of their rights in or their profits from these characters. But this story is copy write to me. 

Comments, especially (constructive) criticism, always welcomed. Please e-mail me at 

Notes 

See part 1 for detailed notes. 

**Sunlight and Shadow - part 4**

****

Leifang looked at Kasumi, mouth wide. "I-I never knew .... " 

The rest of the women were in an equal state of shock. Even Christie looked stunned at what they'd heard. And Kasumi ..... 

_You mean Raidou ... he ... you, you .... evil .... bastard! _The flame-haired kunoichi was shaking with rage, filled with an anger she had never felt before, not even when she'd heard that Ayane's father had nearly killed Hayate. At least her brother had been an adult, but Ayane had been a child. Then something struck her. 

"Oh God! That explains it!" 

"What? What is it, Kasumi?" Helena stepped close and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Is it something to do with what happened to votre pauvre soeur?"(1) 

That in itself was highly unusual. Helena hated Ayane, thinking her the assassin of Helena's mother. For her to show any compassion for the girl was totally unexpected. Presumably the nature of the disclosure had temporarily lessened her antipathy. But Kasumi had no time to follow that line of thought. 

"It's just .... when I found out we were to share a room, I started remembering the good times, when we were young and still close. And I also remembered how her behaviour changed when she was about five and a half - she went from being a pleasant, if somewhat shy little girl, to being sullen and morose. It was that, wasn't it? It was what Raidou did to her that caused her to change!" 

_God, it all adds up now! Why did none of us see what was under our noses?! Were we really so blind?_

"It must have been." Lisa climbed slowly to her feet, an expression of mingled compassion and anger evident. "I've read about how abuse as a child can cause behavioral problems. If she had no-one to turn to ...." 

"She did not." The flame-haired Japanese girl shook her head. "My brother and I were under strict instructions to stay away from her, Ayame, our mother, didn't love her, and Father hated her for not being his. She had no-one until Genra took her in. I'd ... I'd better go after her." She walked to the door and opened it, then stopped as Helena's hand gently held her wrist. She looked questioningly into the aquamarine eyes of the French singer. 

"You might want to wait before going after her. Though you should know her better than I do, from what I have seen of her at the tournaments, I expect she will be kicking herself for telling us." 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

She was partially right - it was the wall that Ayane was kicking. 

Repeatedly. 

_You stupid bitch! Why the hell did you tell them that?! You just showed weakness! They'll find a way to use it against you sometime in the future, just like everyone else always did! You can't trust anyone, you know that, you stupid idiot!_

__

__She spun round to lean back against the wall, and banged the back of her head against it, eyes closed, fists clenched. 

__

_Trust no-one! That's the motto you have to live by! You're an assassin, and a ninja, and an outcast! No-one is going to stand up for you, no-one apart from Genra ever stood up for you!_

__

_But I thought you were trying to be friends with your half-sister, you were trying to patch things up between you? _a small voice whispered in her head_._

__

_A truce, no more. And that didn't include the rest of them! Christie's an assassin too, you fool! What will she do with the information? Or Helena, who hates you because she thinks you killed her mother? What about her?!_

__

__She heard soft footsteps coming down the hallway towards her, and knew instinctively who it was.She kept her eyes firmly closed. 

"Ayane?" 

"What do you want?" 

"Are ... are you all right?" 

"Why shouldn't I be?" 

She felt her sister move closer. "Why didn't you tell anyone what was happening?" 

"Why bother?" 

Kasumi stared at her in disbelief. "Why bother?! Because someone would have stopped him, that's why!" 

Ayane's eyes flew open, and she stared at the older girl. "Who would have?! Whoever gave a damn about me?! The rest of the clan've hated me since the day I was born, remember? And they wouldn't've believed me! The one time I told anyone about .... something that had been done to me, the teacher I told called me a liar, an evil slut trying to undermine the good name of the clan with my wicked lies, then beat me bloody! I never told anyone anything ever again! And it would've been the same if I said anything about Raidou!" 

She turned away - her sister's soft, naive gaze was something she couldn't face, not with memories of everything that had been done to her welling to the surface. 

Kasumi, for her part, was stunned. There was something else, some other event that had happened in her sister's past which she hadn't known about?! 

"What ... what happened?" 

Crimson eyes glared into brown. "You really want to know? Fine! Some girls said they wanted to be friends with me. I believed them, like a naive idiot - I wanted to have some friends, no-one had ever been my friend before. So I put on my one kimono, went to meet them at the home where they'd arranged to meet. As soon as I walked in, one girl slapped her own face then started screaming." 

Her face screwed up in disgust at her own naiveté. "I didn't understand what was happening until the grown-ups ran up, and the rest of the girls all pointed at me, saying 'she started it, we didn't invite her, she just came in and attacked one of us for no reason.' The adults dragged me away and beat me till my back was raw. Next day, when I tried telling the teacher what had really happened - well, I already told you. No-one ever believed me, so the other children used to enjoy getting me into trouble, just because they knew they could. 

"And that's why I don't believe in friendship." 

With that, the purple-haired kunoichi pushed herself off the wall and walked back to her room, leaving her sister staring after her in disbelief. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------- 

_What sort of life has she led? Is that why she never smiles, why she's always so abrupt and defensive around people? Because she's learnt to distrust everyone? Have we all treated her that badly?_

__

_Oh Genra, why did you have to be captured by DOATEC? I can see that you were the only person she ever allowed herself to get close to._ _Once I had allowed a distance had come between us, we were never as close again._

__

_Someone has to crack the shell she's built around herself, someone has to get her to open up. Everything's bottled up right now. She has to let go of some of that anger, before it consumes her._

__

_Perhaps some sparring might help her calm down ....._

__

----------------------------------------------------------------------- 

"You're kidding, right? It's nearly midnight, the air's still warm even now, and you want to spar??" The incredulity was evident on the face of the lavender-haired girl, as she stared at her sister. 

"Well .... I thought it might help us unwind ..." 

A sardonic snort met that statement. "In other words, you think I might want to work off some anger by hitting something." 

"Um, I - " 

"Fine. Outside." 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

_She's caught up with me, skill-wise. But let's see if she's worked out how to counter - _

__

__"Oof!" 

The back kick struck her just as she reappeared behind her younger sister, catching her off guard and knocking her backwards. 

_Apparently, yes is the answer._ She climbed quickly to her feet, Sakura blossoms falling to the sand around her. 

"You've tried that too many times to take me by surprise now, Kas. Better luck next time." Ayane smirked as she spun round to see the older girl getting to her feet. 

They had been sparring for nearly half an hour so far, and both were giving it their all. They had both landed punishing blows, both thrown and been thrown, both suffered and inflicted bruises, both been knocked down and swept off their feet. Both were breathing heavily, their sparring costumes soaked in sweat. Neither had much more to give. 

They set their feet once more, eyes locked on one another, brown eyes meeting red. 

_One last throw of the die._

__

__The orange-haired ninja feinted high, then swept her leg out to take down her sister. But as Ayane fell, Kasumi felt her sister's foot come up behind her knee. The momentum of the lavender-haired girl's fall caught Kasumi, and she fell too. For a moment, they both lay on the sand staring up at the stars above. 

Then Kasumi heard something she hadn't heard for far too long. 

Ayane laughing. 

She turned her head. No, she wasn't dreaming. Her little sister was laughing out loud. 

_The last time I heard that sound was when Genra was around to spend time with her. I'd forgotten what a lovely laugh she has, I hadn't heard it for so long. She should laugh more, and cry more, let her emotions out. It'd do her good._

__

"How cliché can you get? Lying on the sandy beach of a desert island, staring up at the stars! All we need now is some cheesy Hawaiian-style musak, or maybe the theme tune from 'Jaws'." With that, she started mimicking the famous John Williams score whilst trying to stifle her mirth - unsuccessfully. 

After a few seconds spent staring at her, Kasumi joined in. They simply lay on the sand, and laughed. 

It took several minutes for them both to calm down. Kasumi finally got her feet, brushing white sand from her red _gi_, and held out her hand to her sister. Ayane stared at it for several seconds, then tentatively reached up to grasp it. Kasumi pulled her to her feet, and the two girls stared at each other for a while, hands linked, neither of them willing to break the tentative bond which they both sensed now existed between them. 

"We'd .... we'd better get back to our room, if we want to get any sleep tonight. Otherwise we'll lose our games tomorrow." The elder sister finally decided that one of them had to make a move. 

The crimson-eyed girl shrugged. "Guess so. C'mon, let's move." She ran her hand over her red tee-shirt and camouflage shorts, brushing off the loose sand, and they both headed for their room - via the shower. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

"Is ... is what happened why you hated your father - " 

"Raidou wasn't my father, Genra was." The words were said with great emphasis, and the older sister felt that she was treading on dangerous ground. Still she pressed on. 

"But Raidou - " 

"There's more to being a father than just contributing DNA. Genra was my father, in every way that counted. Yes, I hated Raidou for what he did. I'm glad you killed the sick fuck. Pity he didn't take longer to die, but ..... " 

Kasumi looked at her, seeing the closed look so familiar over the last few years settling back into place. The expression that said "keep your distance, you won't like what'll happen if you don't." 

_At the last tournament, she nearly killed Brad Wong when he started hitting on her one evening whilst drunk; it took both Hayate and Ryu to drag her off him. Did what happened all those years ago make her afraid of being touched that way, especially by a man? I wouldn't be surprised if it had. An assault like that ... or did it happen more than once?_ _Oh God! I never thought of that!_

__

_I can't ask her now. I've already brought enough into the open for one night. Further answers can wait until she's happier opening up to me ... however long that might take._

__

She switched off the light and silently padded back to her bed. "Goodnight, Ayane." 

"Yeah. Same to you." 

_I hope your dreams are pleasant. Sister. You deserve them._

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

(1) your poor sister 


End file.
